3 Health Hacks to Get You Back on Track

17/01/2018 11:02 AM

Nutritionist and beauty expert, Tahlia Knowles, shares her tips to ensuring your health is back on track following the festive season.

The festive season can derail even the most committed and conscious health junkies. It is a time where we often help ourselves to thirds or fourths and say ‘yes’ to that extra slice of pavlova. I think we can all agree it feels great at the time but a few days later, or even weeks, we start to eat for the sake of eating and ‘festive’ food just doesn’t feel as ‘festive’ anymore. We are left with a desire to see our health back on track, but often we feel overwhelmed and a little confused. Here are some (realistic) tips to kick start 2018 and make it your healthiest year yet!

Ditch the guilt

Be it the guilt of some long-term unhealthy habits, over-indulging during Christmas and New Year’s festivities, or the guilt you will feel in the future following those ‘treat yourself’ moments. We need to STOP. Not only do these negative thoughts make us feel down, they also hold us back. We need to be open and honest with ourselves about how we should be treating our bodies. Start accepting the unhealthy lifestyle choices you’ve made and ditch the guilt! You’ll feel lighter instantly!

Plan your meals

Planning your meals does not have to mean meal prepping. You do not have to prepare a week’s worth of food on Sunday afternoon to see you through the next seven days. How you should plan your meals is by planning your week. Where are you going to be this week? Are you going to be home or away? Do you prefer to eat leftovers for lunch the next day? Will you be at work? Or will you be out and about running errands? The answers to these questions are key. If you’re away, seek out healthier café options and if you’re going out to dinner, look up the menu and decide on the healthy meal you’re going to order and stick to it. If you like to eat leftovers the next day, cook a healthy dinner with lots of vegetables, lean meat and whole-grains - the more colourful, the better! This will also help with portion control as you will be committed to saving some for the following day, rather than having seconds. If you’re out and about, take some healthy snacks with you to munch on along the way. Carrot sticks make great snacks as they are filling, nutritious and super low in calories.

Listen to your body

Slow down and listen to your body. Our bodies do an amazing job at letting us know when we’re full. According to Dietician Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition for WebMD, eating too fast and not listening to our body leaves us consuming too many calories before we realise we’re full. It takes approximately 20 minutes from the time you take your first bite for your brain to send out signals of fullness. Eating slower and more mindfully allows ample time to trigger the signal from your brain that you are full. And feeling full translates into eating less.

Use these 3 tips to kick start your health in 2018. Remember to be kind to yourself!